"What do you think, Kitty? Do you think these two will give me any sort of challenge?"
"Meoroowww" The response from the kitten was a deeper meow that sounded like it came more from its throat, vibrating quite a bit.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Just because there are two of them won't make them any faster or stronger. They'll die just as quick. I wonder what kind of Ratman will be behind that door. "
Zane began to walk forward. The only way these two Ratmen would present a challenge to him was if they worked perfectly together. While the Ratman that he fought at the end of the second floor seem to have some intelligence, the Ratmen he had fought here on this floor did not display that same intellect. There was almost no variation to their attacks, just like the dungeon rats and the mutant rats that he had encountered. Once you figured out their attack patterns, it was very easy to beat them. The Ratmen on this level tended to run forward and then stab with the dagger. A simple block or dodge was enough to throw them off and then he was able to strike them with his sword.
He moved up the hallway until the Ratmen spotted him and they immediately began to run at him. They actually seem to be racing each other to get to him. He decided to do things a little different this time, just to change things up. First Ratman stabbed his dagger at Zane and Zane dodged and grabbed the rat man, lifting him in front of the other one as it was about to stab at Zane. The Ratman stabbed his companion and Zane pushed it back, causing them to stumble and fall. Zane quickly moved forward and killed the two as they struggled to get off the ground. He waited for the bodies to disappear and the loot to drop, grabbing his two teeth and four coppers.
Zane walked up to the boss's door and then took off his pack. The kitten jumped down, giving him an annoyed meow. "I'm sorry Kitty, but I don't want to have to take this off inside the boss room. What if one of these bosses isn't like the other one that let me take off my pack? It would be a big hassle to fight with this pack on my back. You can walk a little to get in to the boss's room."
He opened the door and walked in, leaving his pack just inside. Across from him was a Ratman clothed in a cloak. The name above the rat said Ratman Rogue (Elite). So, this one has an actual class. Wonder what changes the rat would have gone through to reach this class.
As he crossed the room, the Ratman drew out two long knives. It began to move to the side, circling him. Zane kept it in his sights, his sword and shield in a defensive position. The aneatman moved forward, slashing with his daggers. Zane blocked the attacks and adjusted as several more strikes were attempted. The Ratman then jumped back, the daggers are held up in a defensive position in case Zane followed with an attack of his own.
Zane held his position, respecting the abilities of this rat. While it was not as fast as him, it was still faster than anything he had encountered. He didn't want to make a mistake. The rat attacked twice more, trying to come in from different angles to breach Zane's defenses. He was able to block all these attacks, studying how the Ratman moved.
Zane felt ready to this and begin his attacks. When all of a sudden, the rogue disappeared in front of him in a puff of smoke. He swung in front of him and turned, swinging his sword in wide arcs looking for where the attack would come from. All the sudden he felt pain on in the right side of his back just underneath his ribs.
The Ratmen had appeared behind him and stabbed him. Zane threw his elbow up, striking the Ratman in the head. He continued to turn, thrusting his sword at the rat. It dodged and only caught the edge on its side. Zane wasn't finished, as he struck out with his shield hitting the rat in the face.
The Ratmen stumbled backwards and Zane came forward slashing with his sword, cutting off the hand that's still had a dagger in it. He slashed it several more times before planting his blade in its heart.
The Ratman fell to the floor and Zane took a deep breath before cringing in pain, the other dagger still in his back.
"Crap! I don't have any healing items," Zane said that out loud as he walked back towards his pack. "How am I supposed to complete this dungeon with an injury like this?"
[The water that you have been taking from the fountain has healing properties.]
"Really? Why haven't you mentioned this before?
[There was no need to. This is the first injury you have taken since acquiring the system.]
He reached his pack and grabbed the water bottle. He pulled the dagger out of his back and threw it to the floor, where it disappeared. He didn't even notice, taking a long drink of the water.
Sharp pains started to shoot in and around the wound. "Ow ow ow ow. System, why is it hurting so bad? I thought this was supposed to heal me."
[Did you think healing quickly would be painless?]
"Well, yeah. People wouldn't want to go get healed if it hurt when that happened."
[The God of this world didn't want people being reckless because they could just get healed. So, he made it so you would feel what to heal those wounds.]
Zane grunted at a particularly sharp pain. "I guess that makes sense, though. Isn't that a problem in battle? You don't want your warriors being distracted by the pain of healing."
[Combat healing does not hurt, but is restricted to during times of combat.]
"Interesting." Zane picked up his pack and put it on, the kitten jumping to its usual spot.
[You were not yet completely healed. It would be best to stay still.]
"I will stay still by the fountain on the next floor. I'm out of the water and I would like to be where we could get some more." He walked over to where he had killed the rat man and found his loot. On the ground were three items: one of the bigger coins and two of the stones that had the word crush engraved on it.
He quickly moved down the stairs and found the fountain. The cat got its drink and Zane began shoveling the water into his mouth with his hand. After a moment, he slid to the floor and waited for the pain of healing to stop.